Puppy Love
by Auntie Shara
Summary: House sitting can be an adventure, but what will a dork and a jock do when love comes into the mix. Kevedd, Nat belongs to C2ndy2c1d,Rave belongs to KirKurryArt/Eyugho
1. Chapter 1

Puppy Love Chapter 1 – Settling In

 **A/N-Ah the joys of house sitting especially when the internet goes out every time you are half way through a movie and you just got to the good part, OMFG Alan you need to fix that or so help me I am not sitting for you again. I digress, for Dshell99 who suggested this little treat, and god help me I hope this doesn't get out of hand, that would mean a forth in my rotation.**

Day 1

He inserts the key and turns the lock on the door opening it gently, unsure where the special little occupant he was to take care of might be. As expected the little bundle of joy was doing a dance on the other side of the door, hearing the key turn he had rushed the door having learned over time that it meant his daddy was home. The white Jack Russell Terrier looked at the man who was entering his home and turned his head to the side with his ears cocked up as though to say who are you. Kevin looked down at the adorable dog and smiled, the dogs tail was wagging back and forth in excitement at the new visitor, "Hello there Kipper." The dog bounced up and down on its front legs having recognized its name, Kevin closes the door behind him and puts his duffel bag on the ground then squats down on one knee and extends his hand. The dog takes a few sniffs of him, deciding the man didn't smell bad or have ill intent the dog licks his fingers, Kevin in turn extends his other hand and scratches behind the dogs ear.

After introducing himself Kevin picks up his bag up again and heads down the hall to deposit his belongings in the room he would be staying in, taking note that there was a sticky note on each door in the hall. The first door on the right's note said Guest Room sleep here, the second door which was on the left said Bathroom keep it clean please, the third door at the end of the hall said My Room please do not enter. Opening the guest room door Kevin sees a well-kept and organized room before him, the bed was well made and all the little decorations were precisely placed upon the walls and shelves. Dropping his bag on the bed he leaves the room with Kipper right on his heels, he goes back to the door to find the leash hanging from a hook by the door, retrieving it he turns to the dog and see that he was sitting with his back turned to him so Kevin could get to the loop on the harness easier. "Aren't you a smart one." Kevin says as he attaches the leash, opening the door he heads out but the dog doesn't follow him, instead it was pawing at the table beside the door, Kevin looks at where Kipper was pawing and sees a roll of little bags. "You're right, can't leave a mess can we." Picking them up and placing them in his pocket, Kipper exits the apartment ready to take care of business and have himself a little walk, Kevin opens an app on his phone as they head down the stairs to see how far he needed to walk before his eggs hatch, five kilometers left out of ten.

Twenty minutes later and only two kilometers traveled they reenter the apartment, and Kipper goes straight for the kitchen, he sits on the floor in front of a cabinet and barks once, the jock enters the room and looks at the cabinet seeing a sticky note on it as well. Matter of fact all the cabinets had one on them, saying what each one contained, the one Kipper was interested in said Dog Food and Treats on its note among a few other things. Kevin retrieved the bag and Kipper did another little dance as Kevin pulled a treat out, "You were a good boy weren't you." Kevin said in a goofy voice as he gave Kipper the treat, after placing the bag back where it goes Kevin walks to the living room and sits on the couch to take in his surroundings. Everything had a place and everything was in its place, most would think a place like that would feel sterile, but Kevin could feel that it was done more with care then obsession. Things were displayed as a memory not a decoration, from the decent sized cactus in the corner to a piece of wood with a face drawn on it hanging next to it.

Leaning back in the couch and placing his hands behind his head he thought to himself that this was going to be a cushy job, all he has to do is come here and watch the place, take care of the dog and give him some attention, and on top of that it's not too far from his college so he can walk there. All in all he felt like the winner in this situation, no loud dorm life, no obnoxious roommate waking him up the night before an exam. As he thought about this new short term situation of his, he looked for the remote for the TV while Kipper jumped up onto the couch laying his head in Kevin's lap, finding what he was looking for Kevin leans back, turns on the TV and starts to scratch behind Kippers ears. Halfway paying attention to the action movie he choose on Netflix, he had his phone out and the app open as he had an incense lure active to draw things to him, he should be studying right now but me time was needed he thought.

His phone vibrates and he was disappointed to only see that he had gotten a text message, probably from Nazz he thought to himself, but as he pulled his thumb down the screen he saw it was from an unknown number. The notification box was mainly filled with the number and only part of the message, clicking the box his game shoots off into the background and the message comes to the foreground, "Is this Mr. Barr? This is Mr. Vincent."

"This is Kevin how can I help u Mr. Vincent." Kevin smiled a little at the formality the owner of the house was using.

"Good I was hoping I put your number in correctly." The next message read, then another right after, "How's my Kipper doing? Is he being a good boy?"

Kevin's smile deepened, he always thought highly of people who actually cared for their pets, "Yes he is a very good boy, we're watching TV now." Kevin replied then scratched the dogs ears again, "Aren't you." Kevin said to Kipper who responded with a vigorous tail wage as he looked at the red head.

The phone vibrated again and Kevin looks at the screen, "Good, I'm glad he has taken to you, I was worried he might not like a stranger in the house."

"We r best friends now." Kevin sends the message then holds the phone over his head to take a selfie with Kipper resting his head in his lap and sends it. Examining the picture he laughs at himself for the goofy grin he had on his face.

Another message comes in, "I see, so you are." A few seconds later another message comes in, "I have to go, another meeting to attend, please do take good care of him for me Mr. Barr, I should return by the end of the week."

"Will do Mr. Vincent, and plz call me Kevin." He never did like being called Mr. Barr, it was too formal and that just didn't fit his personality very well.

He got a quick response, "As you wish Kevin, and you may call me Edd if you like." Kevin smiled at this, at least the guy could loosen up a little. One last message, "Have a good night Kevin, please contact me for any reason."

"Will do Edd, and u have a good night 2." After sending that message Kevin stands up and puts his phone in his pocket and walks to the hallway where he had seen photo's hanging on the wall earlier. The older ones were of a trio of friends goofing off together in various stages of their lives, as he progressed further down the row he could tell which one of those friends were the owner of this place. In just a mere few feet of wall Kevin had quickly progressed from childhood to adulthood in Edd's life. The most recent pictures containing Kipper along with his dad, who had an adorable gap toothed smile, at least that's what Kevin thought anyways.

Deciding enough me time had been spent, Kevin settles down at the computer desk in the living room and begins to study, all the while Kipper laid at his feet curled up in a ball. A few hundred miles away Edd looked at the picture Kevin had sent him, thinking to himself how cute the two of them looked together, admonishing himself just a little for thinking the younger man was attractive. Putting away his phone he enters the room where his next meeting would be held.

 **A/N- ok let me know what you think, need to know if it is worth putting into my rotation or if I should put it as a back burner project for when I am stumped on the main three that I am currently working on.**


	2. Curiosity

Puppy Love Chapter 2 – Curiosity

 **A/N-Thank you all I was not expecting such a good reaction to this new fic, I hope it continues to be all that you hoped for.**

Day 2 and 3

Kevin woke the next morning, at first a little confused as to where he was, the place didn't smell like a dorm room, pizza pot dirty socks and beer. It smelled more clean, like vanilla blueberries and clean linens, a shift in the bed and a few quick licks to his face brought Kevin back to the reality of where he was. Petting the dog gently on the head, "Good morning to you to," Kevin stretched to get the blood flowing and as he reached for the covers Kipper jumps down from the bed to allow him to get up. Kevin quickly changes out of his pajama bottoms and into his running shorts and shirt, then heads to the door to grab the leash, Kipper did his little dance at the door eager to leave and take care of his morning business. They jogged for fifty minutes, which included a little break for Kipper to do his thing and get a drink of water. Then back to the apartment with enough time for Kevin to take a shower, get dressed and have a little bit of breakfast before he had to leave for school that day. Making sure Kipper had enough to drink and eat, he gives the dog some love by vigorously rubbing both sides of Kippers face and talking to him, "Got to go boy, I'll be back before you know it." As soon as the door was closed and locked Kevin could hear him whining at the door and scratching his paw against it, feeling a little heartbroken for the guy, he reassures him he will be back and walks off toward school. When he decided to study Mechanical Engineering as a career, he never imagined the course work would be this grueling, but he was determined to help make the world a better place even if it was one drier at a time. Having gotten all his prerequisites out of the way his first two years of school, like physics and calculus, he was now on his core studies in his junior year.

Today his schedule was computer aided design, chemistry and a course on thermal dynamics, with it only being a twenty minute walk from school he was easily able to go back to the apartment for lunch, take Kipper out for a quick walk, have a bite to eat and still make it to his next class with time to spare. When his classes were finished for the day he would come home, repeat the process of letting Kipper out, unwind with some Netflix and then do some studying as his dinner baked in the oven. As the night got later and he had finished the third episode in a row of his binge of Voltron, his curiosity got the better of him about the owner of the apartment, he reaches under the glass coffee table and pulls out one of the photo albums that had been calling to him for the past thirty minutes. Many of the pictures contained within were of the same type of photos he had seen on the wall, the trio of friends. Some of the earlier pictures were of Edd working on some strange contraption in his younger years while others were of Edd and his friends doing different things. One picture brought out a chuckle from Kevin, as it was a selfie a blue haired girl did as she kissed a frightened Edd on the cheek. As Kevin continued through the book the boy's grew up, the three girls that they had seemed to be scared of in their youth became their dates for prom. Kevin thought Edd looked cute in a tux, and though he was smiling in the picture he still seemed leery of the girl on his arm, she on the other hand was practically overjoyed to be there, in Kevin's opinion anyways. As Kevin finished the book, he couldn't help but notice the absents of pictures with Edd's parents, at first he thought they were the ones taking the pictures but as he continued through he began to notice that only two of the boys were generally in the pictures, meaning the third was the one taking it.

The before prom pictures had no parents as well, three dates two boys rotating being in the picture, graduation pretty much the same thing no parents, the one group shot must have been done by another parent Kevin thought. Other then the occasional traditional family portrait, there was no sign of Edd's parents in any of the photos, "It must have been lonely," Kevin said to Kipper as he scratched the dog's right ear. Though the boy in the pictures smiled a lot, he couldn't help but feel sad for him, the hole in his heart the absents of his parents must have caused was beyond belief for Kevin. Sure parents will miss things because of work and the need to provide for their families, that's understandable, but to miss your son's life was unthinkable. Looking to Kipper once again, "That's why you're here aren't ya?" Kipper jumps up and puts his front paws on Kevin's chest licking the man's face vigorously, after sharing a little affection with the dog Kevin notices how late it is and puts the book back where he found it and heads to bed.

The next day was pretty much the same as the day before, get up jog go to school come home for lunch then study as dinner is cooking, Kevin was enjoying the peace and quiet of living away from school and wished he could afford to live off campus. Halfway through an episode of Voltron Kevin receives a text, "Mr. Barr, how is everything going over there? Is Kipper behaving himself for you?"

"Everything is fine here, Edd, Kipper is being a very good boy." Kevin frowned, why was Edd so formal? Must be a personality trait, "U don't have 2 call me Mr. Barr, I'm not going 2 be mad at u for calling me Kevin." He hoped Edd would get the picture this time.

A few moments later Edd replied "I apologize, informalities with a stranger can be a bit awkward for me."

Kevin's curiosity got the best of him again, "Well let's start by getting to know each other then."

Yet again it didn't take long for Edd to reply "It might not be prudent of me to be so forth coming."

Again Kevin frowned at Edd's reply, "What do you got to lose?" No response and Kevin tries again, "I only want to talk, I'm not going to ask 4 ur deepest darkest secrets"

No response, Kevin had started watching his show again, petting Kipper absentmindedly as he did so. He had pretty much given up, figuring that the silence was Edd's answer to getting to know each other and he wasn't going to push the man if he didn't want to talk. Ten minutes after Kevin's last text his phone chimes and he looks at the new message, "Ok, how should we begin?"

"How old r u?" Kevin thought it was a simple enough question to start with, though in retrospect after he sent it he worried it might be rude of him to ask.

"29, and you?" Kevin let out a sigh of relief at not being scolded for his question.

"I turn 21 in a month."

Edd was back to replying quickly again, "Any big plans for the milestone?"

"Nothing 2 major lol, maybe get a few drinks. Midterms are around that time, and school is my big concern RN." Kevin had grown, in high school he wouldn't have missed a chance to go out and have fun, but now would determine his future and he wasn't going to mess that up.

"Oh, so what is your major?"

"Mechanical Engineering," Kevin sent another text really quickly, "what do u do 4 a living?"

"I'm an Epidemiologist, I work for the CDC." Color Kevin impressed a government man.

"How did you land that job?" Kevin again worried he was prying too much.

"It took a lot of hard work and dedication Mr. Barr." A moment later another text, "I'm sorry I meant Kevin."

Kevin smiled a little and looked at Kipper, "It's going to be hard to get him out of that habit isn't it?" The dog just perked up his ears and turned his head to the side, "NP, ur trying." Kevin decided to push a little and ask another personal question, "So I'm guessing ur single."

"What makes you say that?" Was Edd's quick response.

"No pictures of a significant other on the wall." Kevin hoped this wouldn't drive the man to stop texting.

It took a moment but Edd did finally respond, "You're correct, my last relationship ended three years ago." A moment later it continued, "We are still friends but don't really see each other very often now a days, they are in a new relationship now so I understand the distance between us."

This made Kevin a little sad, "Sorry to hear that it didn't work out between you 2."

"It's alright, its ancient history, the relationship ended amicably, so there are no hard feelings between us." Kevin wanted to push and find out why it ended, but felt it would be rude, but he got his answer anyways, "Over time we just became more friends than lovers, never really getting to see each other much due to our work schedules, so we went our separate ways."

"Did they start dating their current right after that?" Kevin was being skeptical of the other person's motives for the break up

"No, why do you ask?" Edd replied quickly.

"I just needed 2 know if I should be mad at them for cheating on you." Kevin's concern for Edd's feelings was evident in his words.

"No they didn't cheat on me, it took them two years before they started dating again." Edd's reassurance set Kevin's mind at ease, the situation would have been much sadder to Kevin if he thought of Edd being hurt by it. The two men conversed for another thirty minutes discovering a few more tidbits about each other, Edd enjoys watching football while Kevin had played it in high school though he couldn't get a scholarship hence why he is doing the odd jobs here and there. Edd has been in two minor relationships that didn't last long and one major relationship while Kevin has dated here and there but has never been in anything to serious. They both also noticed that the other kept using neutral pronouns to describe who they dated but neither of them pushed the subject in case they were over thinking it. Before they knew it time had flown by and Edd had to call it a night, needing to keep to his sleep schedule as best he could, though he complained it was hard to fall asleep when he was not in his own bed. They both bid the other a goodnight, both of them eager to continue this conversation at a later date, though they did their best to keep that bit of information from the other, for now anyways.


	3. Welcome Home

Puppy Love Chapter 3 – Welcome Home

Day 6

Over the course of the next few days their conversations started earlier in the evening and lasted longer into the night, Kevin taking the plunge on the fourth day by texting Edd. His interest in the rave haired man had gotten the better of him, he couldn't help himself his need to know more about Edd was burning his soul alive, and his fingers seemed to move of their own accord when he initiated the conversation. Embarrassment danced across his face in the form of a deep red blush upon his cheeks when he received a reply and then had to explain that he only wanted to talk, fearing rejection from the raven haired man even though they had already done this twice. His spirits lifted and his heart seemed to get lighter when Edd agreed to have the conversation with him, they would chat for a while then Edd would have dinner with colleagues and they would pick up where they left off once he was done and back in his room.

Now on the sixth night of his stay at Edd's apartment they were once again texting each other, "Ok now for a serious questions." Kevin grinned as he pushed the send button.

"I'm all ears Kevin, ask away." Edd had to admit that even though he was originally leery about getting to know someone almost ten years younger than him, he was now happy that he took the chance, Kevin was quite a fun person to talk to.

"What's ur Favorite color?" Kevin was mentally smacking himself for chickening out, he wanted to ask Edd a really personal question, but he didn't know how to broach the subject. Kevin had done some more snooping around in another one of Edd's photo albums and he was dying to confirm whether or not the man in so many of those pictures was Edd's ex-lover. They looked so comfortable and personal with each other, but never was there a picture of them kissing, and even the pictures of them embracing each other could be construed as friends hugging, so it was difficult for Kevin to really tell, though he was pretty sure he was correct in his assumption. The other thing that stopped him from asking is, how do you exactly tell someone that has entrusted you to watch their house that you have been looking through their things.

"I don't know Mr. Barr, that's a little too personal for me." Therein lies the problem with texting, it's sometimes hard to tell if the person is joking or not you can't exactly judge their body language, though Kevin was pretty sure he was, "Blue," was the text a moment later that confirmed it for him.

"Cool," The pit of Kevin's stomach was filled with butterflies there were so many questions he wanted to ask him, but didn't want to make Edd uncomfortable or discover that his hunch about him was incorrect, "Red's my color."

In the back of Edd's mind he was wondering why Kevin had been so interested in talking to him, surely he has friends his own age he could be talking to if he was bored. Kevin has been most determined to get to know him though, but why? The age gap between them is too wide for Kevin to be interested in Edd in most ways in Edd's opinion, friendship or otherwise. Edd was having a hard time rationalizing what this could be, but at the moment he was enjoying their conversations and if he did gain a new friend through this then it was a bonus he hadn't expected. Edd hears his phones notification again, "You there?"

Upon reading the text Edd noticed that it had been twenty minutes since Kevin's last text and he hadn't replied to him yet, "Sorry packing."

Kevin jumped just a little when his phone's notification went off, for being the cool confident kind of guy most people thought him to be he still had worries and doubts to, after all he is only human. Looking away from the horror movie he was watching from Edd's list on Netflix he reads the short text and replies, "That's right, ur coming back tonight." Kevin wanted to meet the guy he had been chatting with, but he wasn't sure how appropriate it would be, "I'll be gone before you get here."

Edd had also been curious to meet the red head in person, but he wasn't sure if Kevin would be alright with it in reality. "I won't be getting home till late, so you're more than welcome to stay the night and leave in the morning." Was that to forward of him, would the red head be uncomfortable with that statement, "If you want that is."

Kevin's trade mark smirk darted across his face when he read Edd's reply, "Cool, can't wait to meet you." Then face palmed a moment later after hitting send, god he's going to think I'm a stalker.

Five minutes later "I look forward to meeting you as well Kevin, how do you take your coffee?"

"With plenty of sugar."

"Ok, well I'll see you in the morning then, I should get going, plenty to do before my flight. Have a good night." Edd dropped the phone on the bed and didn't hear the notification of a new text that wished him a safe trip home. After finishing packing he headed down the street to the dinner he has frequented this past week with his colleagues and had a quick meal before checking out and heading to the airport. Sitting in his seat upon the plane, he was eager to get home and sleep in his own bed cuddle up to Kipper who would probably be so happy to see him that he will more than likely keep him up for another hour saying hello.

Kevin slightly woke up when he felt the bed shift as Kipper jumped off of it and head out of the room, Kevin left the door open to allow the dog access to his water dish in the kitchen and that is where he assumed the dog was headed. But when he didn't return five minutes later which was Kippers normal custom Kevin perks up his ears and hears Kipper whining in the living room, he however did not hear the person shushing him so as not to wake Kevin. Sleepily Kevin rolls out of bed to see what was wrong with the dog, wouldn't that make a great impression if something happened to Kipper on his last day here. Half asleep his mind didn't compute that he had turned off the light in the living room before he went to bed, and as he rounded the corner with nothing on but his boxer briefs he yawned scrunching up his face and his eyes closed, "Kipper what's wrong."

Edd looks up from greeting Kipper to see the well formed body of the red head in his black boxer briefs. Subconsciously his eyes took in the well formed chest, the six pack abs with the red treasure trail of hair leading down into his underwear, those well formed legs and arms, the freckles upon his shoulders and face. A moment later the rational side of his mind snapped back into being, "Mr. Barr, please put some pants on."

Kevin's eyes shoot open and for a moment stared at Edd, his face turned to look away from Kevin, a blush upon his cheeks, Kipper dancing excitedly between the two of them as though saying, "Daddy meet Kevin, Kevin meet daddy." Kevin quickly went back into the hallway just out of sight from Edd, "I'm sorry Edd, didn't realize you were home already." Kevin was smacking himself in the face mentally, way to make a first impression.

"It's quite alright, my apologies for waking you." Edd was still blushing, the image of Kevin's beautiful well defined body seared into his mind. "You should go back to bed, I'll see you in the morning."

Kevin was so embarrassed at the moment, "Ok, I'll see you in the morning, and welcome home." Kevin went back into the room and closed the door, getting into bed, he lay there listening to the sounds of the house as Edd took his luggage and Kipper to his room and closed the door behind him. He couldn't help the thought that entered his mind as he drifted off to sleep, "His voice even sounds cute too."


	4. Waking Up in Peach Creek

Puppy Love Chapter 4 –Waking Up in Peach Creek

 **A/N- Thank you all for your continued support and words of encouragement, you all know who you are and I thank you for helping me along the way. I hope to continue to bring you all my humble stories for a long time to come, but so you all are aware World of Warcraft Legion comes out Tuesday so if I fall off the grid for a moment do not fear it's just a momentary thing. Oh and one more thing, you all can follow me on Tumblr at Mickey197769, I can't believe I'm only saying that now, just me being shy I guess.**

Edd closed his bedroom door and tucked his luggage by his dresser, he would take care of it in the morning, right now he was too exhausted to deal with it and so he collapses on his bed face first. Kipper jumps up on the bed and begins to lick his cheek vigorously, reaching up he began to scratch behind kippers left ear, each enjoying the exchange of affection for a few moments. "Yes little one you are quiet right, I can't very well fall asleep in my clothes now can I." Getting up from his bed he quickly changes out of his clothes and into a pair of pajama pants, Daniel had gotten him out of the childhood habit of wearing a pajama top shortly after they started dating in college. Edd had to admit that the sensation of their bare flesh touching at night as they spooned while they were falling asleep had been very intimate and one of his favorite parts of their relationship. The little acts of bonding that they did together, cuddling up on the couch and watching movies together, the sweet kisses they shared as they cooked dinner together and holding each other as they fell asleep all were special memories to Edd. But shortly after college these moments started to become less often between them, their carriers having just started they needed to pour themselves into them a little to establish themselves within them. This little bit became a lot, and before they knew it Daniel would be working long hours at the office and not come home till after dinner exhausted and ready for bed, while Edd would take frequent trips to other countries or faraway parts of this one.

The one thing they had in the last few months of their relationship was their night time cuddle's as they fell asleep together, and that sustained them for awhile, but the conversation at the end broke both men's hearts though they both knew it was coming and needed to be address. And as a farewell gift to Edd, so he wouldn't get lonely, Daniel gave him an adorable puppy that Edd named Kipper, and now that tiny member of his family was standing on his bed shaking his tail and rump excitedly as he waited for Edd to get into bed so they could cuddle together and fall asleep. It took another thirty minutes for Kipper to calm down enough and stop showing his affection to Edd, before he finally shimmed under the covers and took his place next to Edd right against his shins. Whenever Edd rolled over at night Kipper would follow changing positions along with him, sometimes laying against his back or chest but mostly staying around the front or back of his legs. The trio slept soundly that night, Kipper content that Daddy was home but missed sleeping with Kevin, while Edd was in a dreamless sleep and Kevin's dreams were replaying his embarrassment that night all over to him, but this time he was in his birthday suit and with an average male morning issue.

Six o'clock came to fast for Edd's liking, having only gotten four hours of sleep due to a delay in his flight last night, but it was still important that he go into work today and present the information he received at the meeting to his boss. He rolled out of bed and gathered his clothes for the day and hung them on the hook on the back of his closet door, entering the bathroom connected to his bedroom he got ready. Showered and shaved he reenters his bedroom, but Kipper was nowhere to be found. Remembering he had a guest last night he gets dressed before leaving his room. His attire that day was a pair of black slacks, white dress shirt, grey tie with dark blue stripes done in a double Windsor knot and a matching black sweater vest. Exiting his bedroom he sees the guest rooms door open and the occupant nowhere in sight, entering the living room the front door opens and Kipper comes bounding in followed by Kevin who was wearing a sweat suit. Both men see each other and a blush dances across their cheeks as they remember the embarrassing encounter last night, "Good morning," Kevin stammers out, "I hope you don't mind, but I took him out to spare you a little time before work."

"How considerate of you Kevin," Edd heads into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee that he had set up the night before to brew this morning. Pulling down an extra cup he fills it with the dark liquid and hands it and the small sugar bowl to Kevin, "With plenty of sugar correct."

Kevin smiles and begins putting a few spoonful's of the sweetener into his coffee, "So, what are your plans for the day?" Kevin asked then felt silly for asking such a question as though he was prying too much into the man's business.

"Work," Edd sipped his coffee thanking the gods for the caffeine, wondering how many cups he would have to drink before he made it home tonight.

"Doesn't this make it day seven for you?" Kevin held his cup in his hands enjoying the warmth emanating from the mug.

"Well with such an important matter as this, one cannot rest on one's laurels." Edd replied as he reached into the refrigerator to pull out the bagels and cream cheese, offering some to his guest.

"If you don't mind me asking?" Kevin was pulling apart the precut bagel as Edd spread some cream cheese upon his own.

"What the CDC is so concerned about?" Kevin nodded to Edd's question, "Well, we are improving our protocols in case of a highly contagious epidemic were to occur on US soil, such as the Ebola scare we had a while back. No matter how good you think you are there is always room for improvement."

"So do you all think there might be another outbreak or something?"

"Of course not, but it is better to be prepared and not need it then to need it and not be prepared." Edd finishes his coffee quickly and looks at the watch on his right wrist, "Oh lord look at the time, I really should get going," He quickly puts his dirty dishes into the dishwasher then turns back to Kevin, "take your time getting your things together, but when you leave please be so kind as to leave the key on the table by the door." Edd grabs his trench coat and umbrella from the hooks by the door, the forecast called for rain today, turning back to Kevin he extends his hand "It was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Barr."

Kevin takes his hand and gives it a firm shake, "Yeah, nice to meet you to, Edd."

"If it's alright with you I would like to ask for you again when my next trip comes up."

"Sure, no problem," Kevin's voice sounded a little defeated at first but he cleared his throat and continued, "I would be happy to, it means I get to see my buddy again," Kipper jumps up on his hinge legs and gently scratches at Kevin's leg as the red head addressed him, Kevin reaches down and pets the dog on the head.

"Yes I am sure he would enjoy that," Edd reaches for the handle of the door, "Have a good day Mr. Barr, I hope to see you again soon." He opens the door and exits the apartment, _"_ _Did you have to be so formal?"_ Edd thought to himself, a small part of him hoped that he could be friends with Kevin, but the larger part knew a nine year age gap was a big hurdle to overcome even in friendship.

Kevin on the other hand looks down at Kipper and smiles, letting out a little chuckle, "Your daddy has some major walls up doesn't he."

Kipper turns his head to the side as though trying to say, "You have no idea kind sir." Kevin spent the next hour to clean himself up and gather up the few possessions he brought with him. Saying his goodbyes to the little bundle of joy he had grown attached to, hoping he would be able see him and his master soon. Wondering to himself if he should make an attempt with the raven haired man and try contacting him again with maybe a simple text message, or if Edd's formal way of speaking to him this morning was a hint that their relationship should remain one of business. These thoughts raced through his head as he said his final farewells to Kipper, dropped the key on the table by the door, locked the bottom lock and shut the door. He made his way back to his college dorm life and his obnoxious roommate, still pondering whether or not he could get past Edd's defenses, or if Edd would even be interested in him the same way he was interested in Edd.

 **A/N- Hmm I wonder who that obnoxious roommate is lol.**


	5. The Roommate

Puppy Love Chapter 5 - The Roommate

 **A/N- Sorry for the delay once again, work eat sleep WoW repeat. I have spread myself thin on time, so I will be trying to compensate by writing on my breaks at work that is if we don't play Euchre on lunch of course. Nat belongs to C2ndy2c1d, Rave belongs to KirKurryArt/Eyugho.**

Straddling Nat's lap the man crashes their lips together as their hands explore each other's chiseled bodies, Nat's thumb caresses the man's nipple as his lips part to allow him entrance, and their tongues meet in a passionate battle for dominance. Grinding their underwear clad cocks together they produced that sweet friction both men craved, eliciting a moan from Nat as he parted their lips to make his way to the man's neck. Sucking and gently nibbling upon a sensitive spot he brings forth a dark mark on the man's white skin, he kisses the mark triumphantly, smiling to himself he admires his work.

Laying the man down upon the bed, Nat begins to suck and gently nibble upon the erect cock through the man's boxer briefs, which were barely containing the prize he was after. He grips Nat's hair tightly in his hand, directing the movement of his head as the teal haired man brought pleasure crashing through him like waves upon the shore. Putting his fingers into the waistband of his lover's underwear Nat pulls down the front exposing the pulsating cock hidden within. Sucking up the head he positions it where he wants it and slides down, hilting it deep within his throat, bringing forth a moan from the man as he bucks upward with his hips. Sucking greedily, he savors the taste of the juices that flowed generously from the tip of the prick into his mouth. Coming up for air, "Damn, you taste so good," he said as he smacked the erect piece of meat against his stubble check a few times, smiling wickedly up at his lovers blushing face.

He licks up the side of the shaft to the tip then swallows him down his throat again, working his magic on his lover, the evidence was on the man's face as it was contorted with pleasure. He opens his mouth in what Nat thought to be a moan and Kevin's voice comes out, "Wake up Nat."

The teal hard college student woke up in his bed suffering from the common male morning issue. "You couldn't have waited five minutes?"

"No man," Kevin drops his duffle bag on his bed, "I really don't want to watch you grind your mattress in your sleep."

"I'm tripodin here man." Nat said letting out a groan at the end.

"Dude, I didn't need to know that." He began unpacking his clothes and putting them in his dresser.

Nat rolls over on his back prominently showing the tent in his sheets, "How about you help a brother out and give me a hummer." He wags his eye brows at Kevin as the jock looks over at him in disbelief.

"Not on my drunkest horniest night." He turns back around and continues to put his clothes away trying to ignore his horny roommate. "Why don't you just ask that guy out already and work out some of this tension with him."

Nat rubs the sleep out of his eyes, "I would, but anytime I talk to him he gets really defensive and shots his mouth off." He groans, "God that mouth, that ass," He makes a few hand gestures as though he is squeezing the object of his affections ass.

He throws off his covers and gets out of his bed, stretching with his arms over his head, "Dude, put some pants on please," Kevin exclaimed and couldn't help but feel like his roommate was still trying to show off a little, probably hoping he would change his mind about the good morning blow job if he got a better look at the goods.

Getting a pair of sweat pants out of his dresser drawer, Nat slides them on and adjusts himself so he wasn't showing as much, for his embarrassed roommate's sake. "So how was the house sitting gig?"

"It was alright."

"Alright?" He scoffs, "You get any tail while you were gone?" Kevin didn't say anything to confirm or deny said action, "Tell me you plowed some hot young guy into the mattress while making him scream out yours and the lords name." Kevin just continues straightening his side of the room avoiding Nat's eye's, "Jesus what are you 80?"

"No, I just have more respect for people's property then you do." He replied matter-of-factly and finishes what he was doing then sits upon his bed. Truthfully his young hormones did want to seduce the owner of the house once he had met him, but his more mature side told him to take it slow and not rush this, whatever this might be, if it was anything at all. He had an attraction to Edd that was based on more than just whether or not he found the man handsome or not, which he did, but he had gotten to know him a little, and that little bit fueled a desire to learn more and more about Edd. And if he tried to get to know him more, Edd in turn would come to learn more about and hopefully come to desire Kevin as well, at least that was Kevin's hopes on the situation.

Nat snaps his fingers in front of Kevin's face, "Earth to Kevin, are you in there man?"

Kevin blinks and shakes his head a little at the fingers snapping in his face, bringing him out of his thoughts, "What?"

"Just that you were zoning out man, didn't you hear what I asked you?" Nat had finally put on a shirt by this time, Kevin gives him a blank expression of not understanding, "I asked if you wanted to go to Rave's play this Friday?"

"I don't know yet, I'll let you know."

Lying back on his bed he looks at the clock, ten in the morning, it's a Saturday and there were no classes today, why the hell did Kevin have to wake him up so early for, and it was such a nice dream to. Looking at Kevin he sees him contemplating again and decides to ask, "So who is it?"

"What are you talking about?" Kevin chuckles at the statement, trying to play dumb but failing miserably.

Throwing a baseball up in the air and catching it to pass the time he continues, "The person you're falling for, you're acting like I did when I first saw Rave, lost in thought all the time, never wanting to make plans because you just might get to hang out with them. You know I can practically see the hearts circling your head."

He knew Nat would not relent about this, so he decided to give him a half assed answer, "He's no one you know."

"You sure, I know a lot of people."

"Yes, I'm sure."

"So when can I meet him then?" Nat catches the ball and looks at Kevin with a wicked grin upon his face. Kevin puts a pillow over his face and groans in frustration, it wasn't that he was ashamed to introduce Edd to Nat, he was just more worried about introducing Nat to Edd. "Come on asshole, I want to meet him." Kevin uncovers his face and looks up just in time to get hit in the face by Nat's pillow.

Throwing the pillow back at his friend, "You'll get to meet him when I'm damn good and ready."

"You're no fun." Nat pouts

Not wanting to sit around and have Nat nag him all day he get ups and gets his gym clothes out, "I'm going to the gym for a few hours."

"Cool I'll come with," Seeing the expression on Kevin's face that said he wanted some privacy, he adds, "Hey if I stay around here only one arms going to get a workout," Kevin grimaces at that statement, "And besides this way I'll get to pry some more info out of you about this mystery guy."

Kevin caves in and allows him to come, sure Nat was a bit much at times, especially if you just met him, but all in all Kevin enjoyed his company, the teasing back and forth included. Besides he had this coming for all the fun he had at Nat's expense when he started pursuing Rave, it was only fair for him to return the favor after all. Two hours of forty questions about Kevin's crush and a nice weight lifting and cardio work out later and Kevin is in the shower for some peace and quiet. That is until the bathroom door is opened suddenly, Kevin could have sworn he locked that door, "So why don't you invite your man to the play this Friday, I'll get to meet him, you'll get your date, and you can be there for me when I ask Rave out, sounds like a win-win to me."

Kevin looks out from behind the shower curtain, "I'll see what I can do," and he points to the door with his thumb and mouths the words get out.

Nat bits his lip and looks at the red head seductively, "What you don't want me to wash your back Papi?"

"Out!" Kevin exclaims and Nat laughs a little as he exits the door, god that boy didn't know when to stop teasing. Finishing his shower he climbs out and dries himself off, the wraps the towel around himself and rummages through his pants for his phone. Retrieving it he sends a text to Edd, "Do U want to get a drink?"


	6. The Date

Puppy Love Chapter 6 – The "Date"

 **A/N- Sorry I skipped this one the last go through on my rotation, just didn't have the inspiration to do this chapter then and needed more time to work it out. Hopefully it was worth the wait.**

Edd looked down at his phone for the tenth time since receiving the text from Kevin, each time pretending he was checking the time. This meeting couldn't be over fast enough for him, they were going over the new protocols that Edd and his boss had received during their out of town conference. Though he knew it was important to disseminate this information to the rest of his peers, his fingers were itching to respond to Kevin's invitation, not really wanting to keep the red head waiting for an answer. After lasting an hour and a half the meeting was finally over, Edd gathers his materials and steps out of the conference room heading in the direction of the coffee machine, pulling out his phone as he walked he sends a text. "That sounds nice Kevin, just tell me when and where to meet you."

Reaching the machine he pulls out his billfold, opening it he puts in the appropriate amount of money and makes his selection. As the machine drops the cup and begins to fill it he hears, "Hello Eddward," coming from behind him.

Edd turns around to face the familiar voice of Marco, the man was two years older than him putting him at 31, being six foot two inches he was slightly taller than Edd and he had black hair, hazel eyes and olive skin that showed his Italian heritage, "Salutations Marco, how are you doing today?" The machine finishes dispensing his drink and Edd reaches down to retrieves the cup.

Marco was a little nervous, having been interested in Edd for quite some time now, but he hides it very well from the man, speaking very confidently, "I have two tickets for the opera tonight, Carmen, they are really nice seats," Edd took a sip of the drink that was helping to keep him awake, "I was wondering if you might be interested in going with me, we can get dinner before the show," Edd's phone chimes signaling a new message had arrived, "I know this nice Indian place close to the theater."

"I'm sorry Marco, but I already have plans for tonight," Edd unlocks his phone and swipes down to bring up his notifications to confirm the message was from Kevin, "And it is such a shame to, I've wanted to see Carman for ages."

"A date?" Marco had a hard time hiding the defeat in his voice, but his face was still flawlessly concealing his feelings for his geeky colleague.

Edd put away his phone without checking the message and the both of them started walking toward Edd's office area, it was rude enough that he had looked at his phone while having a conversation with someone. "No, just friends, we're going to get a few drinks this evening, though I'm not quite sure where yet but it does promise to be an entertaining night." Edd realized that he had unwittingly made Marco's invitation sound less entertaining and fumbled with his words as he tried to undo what he had said, "Not that Carmen would have been any less enjoyable, and Indian food is one of my favorites, I… didn't… mean."

"I know what you meant Edd, maybe some other time," He smiles warmly at Edd, "I'll give you more of an advanced notice next time, that way your _friend_ can't hog all your attention."

Edd returned the smile, "I look forward to it," they had reached the door to where his desk was situated within, "It's such a shame for that ticket to go to waste, why don't you ask Debbie at the reception desk to go, I hear she loves opera."

Though it wasn't the ideal situation he was hoping for, he figured he might as well give the seat to someone who would enjoy the show, "Thanks, I'll let her know it's available."

Saying their farewells, Edd heads to his desk and files his materials from the meeting. Unlocking his phone he opens the text he had received, "Do you know where the Dock is downtown?" Edd replies affirmatively and gets ready to leave for the day, having been working for seven days straight he was punching out early today. Another chime from his phone, "Choice, meet me there around 7, we can get a bite to eat first"

Edd checked his phone and saw that it was only 11:30 and that by the time he got home he could catch a few hours of shut eye so he wouldn't be a total zombie when he met up with Kevin? The coffee was doing nothing to stave off the fact that he only got a few hours of sleep last night and a little recharge would do him some good, "Alright I'll see you then," Edd replied and headed out the building to his car, making it home roughly thirty minutes later he takes Kipper on a quick walk. Getting back in the house another twenty minutes later he could feel the exhaustion weighing heavily upon his shoulders, giving his baby boy the treat he deserved for being a good boy all day he then heads into the bedroom and collapses upon the bed.

Edd woke up to a dark room, his phone ringing and Kipper licking his face, answering the phone the drowsiness was apparent in his voice as he spoke, "Hello?"

"Did I wake you?" Kevin's voice came through the speaker, a sound of relief could be heard within it.

"What time is it?" Edd's brain was still trying to wake up and slowly his systems started to remember certain things he was suppose to be doing tonight, and why the red head would be calling, "I'm late aren't I?" He practically jumps out of the bed and rushes into the adjoining bathroom to try and hurry up and get ready, damn it bed head from hell is all he saw as he looked in the mirror.

"Just a little bit, it's almost eight."

"I'm so sorry Kevin, I must have forgotten to set my alarm."

"It's alright Edd."

"I'll try and hurry, but I probably won't make it there for nearly another hour, I totally understand if you just want to call it a night." This day has been nothing but one missed opportunity after another, and Edd was thinking that he should have just stayed in bed this morning and skipped this day altogether now.

"Naw I totally understand, late night last night and an early morning, you must have been exhausted," relief went through Edd as Kevin was very understanding about the situation, "Can I come over instead?" A brief pause from Edd as he thought this request through, he should have enough time to take a shower before the red head showed up, plus they wouldn't have to try and talk over a crowd and music at the bar, "I've got Chinese and a few movies," Kevin said trying to persuade him.

Edd replies in his best southern belle accent, "Why Mr. Barr, how could anyone turn down such an offer."

"So is that a yes?"

"Yes," and the door bell rings, Kipper runs in the direction of the noise and barked a few times at the door, "Boy you don't waste time," Edd puts on his beanie to cover up his bed head and opens the door.

"Yeah, I kinda got stood up and really needed someone to talk to."

Edd steps to the side to allow Kevin to enter, "Well they really don't know what their missing now do they."

"Well, they're really a nice guy, so I figured they probably just overslept or maybe something important came up." Kevin walks into the kitchen and puts down the bag containing the food and a few Red box movie cases on the counter as Edd closes the door.

Edd walks over to the kitchen bar that was cut into the wall that separated the dining area from the kitchen and sits at one of the stools looking through the movie selection as Kevin retrieved dishes for the meal, "Sounds like you're too kind for your own good, my vote is they ditched ya."

"Really, you think so, but I'm such a catch," Kevin sets the plates on the counter and begins to take the food out of the bag and place it beside the plates.

Setting down the movie he wanted to watch separately from the others, he takes a peek at what was for dinner then goes and pulls a white wine from his small rack above the refrigerator, "Your chiseled good looks scared them away, you are way too much man for them obviously." Then retrieved two glasses from the cabinet nearby and started to pour them both a drink.

Kevin smiled and it lit up his face, he was glad that Edd had loosened up since this morning, removing the food from the containers in even portions upon both plates, "So should I give them a second chance."

"Hell no," Edd giggled and took a sip of his wine, "But if you do, you make them beg for every second of your attention."

"Oh really now, I'll have to remember that." A wicked grin ran across Kevin's face as images of Edd begging crossed his mind and his pants became tighter slightly. They both picked up their plates and headed into the living room to watch the movie that Edd had chosen while having small talk about the film and it's adaptation from the original work that had inspired it, enjoying good food, good wine and good company. Edd was grateful that he had taken that nap earlier, for they stayed up until the wee hours of the morning talking about many different topics, ranging from their interests to hopes for the future, saying good night at around three in the morning. Kevin's first thought as he left that night was to kiss him goodbye, but thought better of it, he wanted to take it slow and it wasn't officially a date and thus didn't want to over step his bounds. Edd on the other hand was fighting the urge to climb the man like a tree, it had after all been a minute since his last good shag, but fortunately for him he was able to keep temptation at bay and see the night to its logical conclusion.


	7. You've Got Mail

Puppy Love Chapter 7- You've Got Mail

 **A/N- Text from Kevin are seen as from Edd's phone Text from Edd are seen as from Kevin's phone. And per my usual the French and Italian comes from Google translator so please forgive if it screws it up.**

The next day Kevin and Edd furiously texted each other while Kevin was in-between classes or during Edd's lunch break, with their little playful back and forth from the previous night Kevin became bolder and more flirtatious with each new text.

"Mr. Barr 12:15p- Have I told you how good you looked last night?"

"The Adorkable 12:16p- Pourquoi Monsieur Barr sont vous frapper sur moi?"

"Mr. Barr 12:18p- Huh?"

"The Adorkable 12:19- French, you're a smart boy, you'll figure it out." Kevin does a quick search for a translator on his phone, coming up with "Why Mr. Barr are you hitting on me?" Nat hit the nail on the head with this nickname, being nosey as usual Nat would occasionally learn the unlock pattern of Kevin's phone and change the names of his contacts based on the picture assigned to them.

"Mr. Barr 12:22p- Oh," A smiley face was returned by Edd, "That beanie though made the whole outfit."

"The Adorkable 12:23p- I know I looked like a dork."

"Mr. Barr 12:24p- I love me some dork with an order of sass on the side," Edd giggles to himself, oh god were they really doing this, another text interrupts his thoughts, "Though I would have liked to have run my fingers through your hair last night."

"The Adorkable 12:26- Major bed head," A mental slap to the face, he didn't need to tell Kevin that, "But I'll take a rain check on the offer."

"Mr. Barr 12:27- How about tonight?"

"The Adorkable 12:29p- I have to work late tonight."

"Mr. Barr 12:29- Tomorrow?"

Edd thought about it for a moment, he didn't want to rush things if this was going the way all signs were indicating, but Kevin seemed to be in a hurry to spend as much time together as their schedules would permit. "The Adorkable 12:32- It's possible but I can make no promises."

"Mr. Barr 12:35- Cool, if it isn't obvious I like you Edd," It was Kevin's turn to mentally smack himself in the face, of course it was obvious. "Mr. Barr 12:38- I want to take things slow and get to know each other and go from there, but at the same time my heart tells me that I have to see you , so I'm conflicted on what is too much and what is too little."

"The Adorkable 12:40p- I understand Kevin, and I feel the same way." Edd was putting himself out there for the first time in years, and the thought was making his palms sweat as he typed the next part, "The Adorkable 12:43p- It would make me very happy to see you again, and yes I agree that going slow is important for me, so why don't we set up a proper date."

"Mr. Barr 12:45- Ok a proper date, how about this Friday, there's a play that the local LGBT theater group is holding. So we can have dinner then go see the play or vise versa depending on your schedule."

"The Adorkable 12:48p- Ok it's a date, I'll see you on Friday then, but right now I need to be getting back to work so I'll talk to you later."

"Mr. Barr 12:50- Choice, do you still want to try and get together tomorrow?"

There was a long pause and Kevin figured work was keeping him from responding as quickly, he nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone went off suddenly telling him he had a new message, "The Adorkable 1:10p- We can try for tomorrow as well, now I really must get off here." Kevin smiled a little glad that Edd would respond to him even though he was obviously busy at work.

Edd puts his phone in his desk drawer and locks it, returning his attention to his work, researching the number of last year's flu cases within several densely populated areas and building a prediction of this year's possible outbreak cycle of the pesky virus. He called up several manufacturers of the vaccine to ensure they were on schedule and that there wouldn't be any shortages this year. He also called up a couple of local health departments to see that they were taking proper care to ensure they had ordered enough of the medicine for their communities but also to stress the importance of being frugal with their order to ensure that there was enough to go around for everyone. As he hung up the phone for the tenth time since lunch Marco comes strutting over and takes a seat on the corner of his desk. "Ciao, Eddward."

"Good afternoon Marco, how are you today?" he didn't look up from where Marco had just rested his derriere on his desk, the social side of his brain telling him to calm down that it was just a sign of familiarity.

"I'm doing good Bella, even better now," he reaches in to the inner pocket of his business jacket and begins to pull out some papers, "I have some tickets for this Fridays..." He was cut off by Edd.

"I'm sorry Marco, but I just made plans for that day," he finally looked up and into the man's eyes, "And yes it's a date this time," Edd gently smiled at the thought of a proper date with the cute red head.

Marco on the other hand looked a little defeated as he sighed his frustration at being late yet again. "Your "friend" again?" Edd nods his answer, "He doesn't waste any time does he."

Edd felt a little sorry for the man sitting upon his desk, it wasn't his fault that his timing was bad, "I'm sorry Marco, I'm sure you had a wonderful evening planned for us." Edd paused, pondering on what to say, trying to be as gentle as possible with the man "But you see, I've recently started to get to know someone, and it wouldn't be right of me to keep you in the dark, hoping that I might say yes sometime soon." Edd swallowed and felt a little bad about doing this, "I'm sorry."

Marco stands and brushes the wrinkles from his clothes, "Nothing to apologize for Bella." He smiles softly at Edd, "il cuore vuole ciò che vuole." He turns to walk away but pauses and looks Edd in the eyes one more time, "Ciao Bella, maybe next time our stars will align."

As Marco walks away a little less proud then when he arrived, Edd's phone chimed again. Opening the drawer he had it in and unlocking his phone he pulls up the message app and sighed as he read Kevin's message. "Mr. Barr 3:58p- Don't forget to set your alarm," and at the end of the sentence was a little smiley face with its tongue sticking out.

 **A/N- il cuore vuole ciò che vuole is Italian for "The heart wants what it wants" and god I never realized that Ciao means hello and goodbye, you learn something new everyday, even at my age, also for those who don't know Bella means beautiful one.**


	8. Pondering Mind, Wondering Eyes

Puppy Love Chapter 8 – Pondering Mind, Wondering Eyes

Edd was giddy with excitement over the attention that Kevin was giving him, they were texting back and forth whenever they had free time to do so, both understanding that the other might not respond right away due to work or school taking up their time. Kevin had become bolder since confusing his interest in Edd the previous night, sending him little flirts now and then that would make Edd blush. Nothing perverted mind you he did consider himself a gentleman after all, just little things like how beautiful he thought Edd's eyes were or how cute he thought his smile was. Edd, not being very good at these kinds of interactions stumbled a few times, telling Kevin in one of his texts that he thought his Gluteus maximus was a superb example of the male physic.

Eliciting a laugh from Kevin and a quick response, "Did u just say that my butt looks good?"

"No," Edd blushed deeply at the fact that he had even said it in the first place, then changed his answer, "maybe."

"U know u can look at my butt all u want," Kevin opens the door to his next class and steps inside and then sent him a quick message as he walked to his seat, "Well my next class is about to start so I'll talk to u in a little bit."

While Kevin was in class Edd finished up a few odd bits of paperwork then went down and took his lunch in the break area of the building, sitting down at one of the tables he enjoys a nice Cob Salad while reading the Walking Dead compendium one. Getting to a slow paced scene when Rick and his group were exploring the freshly cleared out prison complex when a shadow obstructed his light, looking up he is greeted by Marco, "Ciao Eddward," he was carrying a few items purchased from the vending machine in his left hand and a soda in his right, "May I join you?"

Edd motions to the chair across from him and a nagging question pops in his mind, "Excuse me Marco but I don't mean to be rude when I ask this," Marco cocks a brow as he sits down, "But you're not from Italy are you?"

"That noticeable is it?"

"Yeah your Italian accents is a little off but your English is perfect, did your parents teach you their native tongue?" Edd hopes he wasn't being too rude by being straight forward.

"Both my Mother and Grandparents," He opens the package to his sandwich and pulls it from the plastic container, "Both my Grandparents came from the "old country" and taught their kids as they grew up, and my Mother thought it would be nice for me to learn it so I could communicate with them in their native language."

"How charming, but something tells me you've used it for more than just talking to your Grandparents."

Marco blushes a little having had his game figured out so easily by the man, then decides that it was probably best to just be himself and not try and impress him anymore with his bilingual skills. Seeing the thick paperback book sitting on the table, "So what are you reading," he asks as he motions with the hand that held the sandwich. Edd holds up the book shyly to display the front cover, "I love that show," Marco exclaims, "Rich is so much hotter with the beard don't you think."

Edd places the book back down and smiles, agreeing with Marco secretly on that opinion, "It is a binge fest I enjoy regularly whenever a new season comes on to Netflix."

"So you don't keep up with it when it's on TV?"

Edd shacks his head then spoke, "No I do not watch too much cable TV now a days, I mainly stick to my Netflix, more variety new and old in my opinion."

"You know there is something that has bugged me about the show."

"What is that Marco," It was Edd's turn to cock a brow at his colleague.

"So they never really explained how quickly everything went to crap," He takes a sip of his drink allowing the gears in Edd's mind a moment to start turning then continues, "Ricks the clue, for the hospital was abandoned and we know that you die without water in three days."

"Oh so you're wondering how long it was from Day one of the apocalypse until Rick wakes up in the hospital?" Marco nods, and Edd pulls out a piece of paper and looks up a few numbers on his phone then starts calculating it. Ten minutes later he pops his head up and spouts off "10 days, it would take 10 days for the zombie population to exceed the population of the United States."

"Wow really?"

"Yes taking into account that you come back regardless of how you die," He starts to show Marco his piece of paper that held the equation as he explains, "There is an average of 105 deaths in the US a minute, and also this equation only allows for a zombie to kill one person a day so it might be sooner than ten days. So with natural deaths plus the one kill per zombie and then accounting for people dying in the middle of the night and killing their families at an average family size of three you end up with 352,800 zombies at the end of day one."

"That's not bad," Marco said looking over the information.

"No it isn't that bad at the beginning, but seeing how you know the government wouldn't want to start a panic and probably not even acknowledge it at first it allows them time to spread unchecked. Then you start day two, and it's just a matter of doubling that starting number for the day to account for the one death per zombie, then add natural deaths and night time deaths to get your total per day. And as you can see the numbers compound upon each other per day and by day five you have 10,180,800 and then by day ten you have 340,905,600 and that's just for the US alone. And seeing how the US only has 324 million people in it we would be wiped out, according to the math anyways."

Marco looks over the equation and sees a small difference in some of the numbers and asks, "Why did you double the natural death rate at day five?"

"To account for looting and rioting once people started to notice that the dead were walking amongst them, people don't stay blind forever, wouldn't you agree," Edd gets a text at that moment and absentmindedly opens his phone to look at it, knowing it was probably from Kevin. His breath was taken when he sees what the text contains, it was a picture of Kevin's fully clothed back side facing the mirror in the bathroom while taking the picture over his shoulder, the text reads, "So u can look at it whenever you want." Apparently Kevin's playful side superseded his gentlemanly behavior when he decided to send that picture.

Edd closes his phone and puts it down on the table, "Your friend," Marco asked seeing his reaction, Edd nods, "Playfully teasing you is he?" Edd smiles to the question but not sure how he should answer that, of course the picture wasn't anything dirty but still felt it was something Marco didn't need to know.

Another text, "So r u free tonight?"

"I should be home by six," Edd typed out then turned back to Marco and changed the subject back to the previous topic, "So as you can see I would say Rick woke up around day nine, but seeing how I only accounted for one death per zombie per day it was probably more around day six or seven, seeing how they probably killed more than one person a day."

Another text, "Cool I'll meet u then, and I promise I won't keep you up late."

Marco was a little frustrated that Edd was continuing to get texts during their conversation, jealousy is a terrible thing after all, but his rational side understood that the man was trying to start a relationship with the sender. So he took a deep breath and told himself to just continue being Edd's friend, for he was an interesting person to talk to and very kind and he would count himself lucky to remain such with the cute dork.

Edd typed out his reply, "Ok I'll see you at six," then turned back to Marco with an apologetic expression upon his face, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude."

Marco waved off his concerns, "I understand, you have to connect with people when you can, especially in this line of work when you don't know when you'll be around and for how long." Edd smiled at his understanding, but in the back of his mind he wondered how long the young jock would understand that his job required him to travel at a moment's notice and be away for long periods of time, and with that thought he pondered if it was worth getting excited about this new budding relationship, just to get hurt because of the possibility that the young man wouldn't understand his responsibilities.


	9. Put Your Head on My Shoulder

Puppy Love Chapter 9 – Put Your Head on My Shoulder

 **A/N- In light of all that has happened here in the past week, I would like to take this moment and say that I love you all, that I wish you all happiness, love and safety for the rest of your lives. That I will be here for you as best I can be and to remind you that it gets darkest before the dawn. I won't lie and say that it's all going to be peachy, we are all in for some rough times, but just remember to keep your heads up and march forward, for no one can take your pride away from** **you. You are god's children, you are valid, you are loved and together we will stand and be the rocks that their waves of hatred will crash upon and we will stop it from moving forward, we will send it back into the sea of their despair.**

 **I love you darlings,**

 **Auntie Shara.**

Edd left his work on time today, his excitement for seeing Kevin tonight sending butterflies swarming in his stomach. Why was he so nervous though, they have been talking regularly and have seen each other a few times already and were hitting it off wonderfully in his opinion? Well one of his concerns is that they haven't gone out on an official date yet, and the red head was rather aggressive about getting to know him, he was just hoping that the flame wasn't burning too bright and would thus fizzle itself out before it had even begun. But each text from Kevin that day had banished those fears, each flirt had fortified his knowledge that Kevin was sincere in his desire to be with him. So his nerves then must be the eager anticipation for things yet to come between them, the hopes for a bright future with the man that was now consuming all his thoughts, and an earnest desire to hold him close in his arms.

Arriving at his apartment a few minutes early, in hopes of taking Kipper out before Kevin arrived, he was greeted by the aforementioned red head leaning patiently against the wall next to his door, carrying a backpack over his left shoulder and a grocery bag in his right hand. Meeting Kevin's gaze, "Oh, I hope you weren't waiting to awfully long." Taking in the man's appearance he saw that he was wearing dark blue jeans with a black sweatshirt that had a white tribal design upon it that went down his left side and across his broad chest and over his right shoulder.

"No I just got here a moment ago," presenting the plastic bag, "I brought dinner, lasagna and garlic bread." Edd looks in the bag and sees the frozen dinner and package of bread, "I hope you don't mind it's premade."

Edd could have kissed the man for his thoughtfulness, he was run down from a long day at work and didn't' feel like cooking today. But with that desire another thought creeped into his head, they hadn't even kissed yet and would it be alright for him to do it now out of the blue on an impulse. Some would say yes go for it, but his shy demeanor held him back, "Thank you Kevin, that is most thoughtful of you." A bark from the other side of the door along with a scratch told them that Kipper thought they were taking too long to say hello and let him out. Opening the door he lets Kevin inside to put the food in the oven while he went for a walk with Kipper, surprisingly the dog didn't want to stay out very long, as though he was trying to say get back in there and enjoy your time with Kevin.

Opening the door and letting him off his leash, Kipper runs into the kitchen where Kevin stood waiting with a treat already in hand for the little guy. He peeks his head around the corner and his heart melts as he sees the man praising Kipper and petting him vigorously on the head, handing the treat over he runs into the living room and lands on the couch to eat. "If it's alright," Edd points toward his bedroom, "I'm going to take a quick shower and change into something a little more casual."

"That's cool, dinner won't be ready for some time," Kevin replied as he stowed the garlic bread in the refrigerator, "I'll just get things ready out here and play with Kipper till you get done."

"Alright I'll be back in a few," and with a light smile to the red head he goes to his room and closes the door and begins to look through his closet for something that looked less like a dork. Failing miserably at that task, seeing how all his t-shirts showed his gamer side, and dress casual didn't exist in his wardrobe, finally deciding on a black t-shirt with an adorable Moogle upon it. Jumping in the shower he cleaned himself up in record time and was out and clamoring to get dressed and presentable.

Stepping out of the room he sees that the lights were off, but a warm soft flickering glow was coming from the living room and dining area at the end of the hall. Coming around the corner he sees that Kevin had scattered several candles around the room and was currently lighting a few more that he had placed upon the end tables by the couch. Turning his head he sees Edd standing there shyly watching him finish his preparation, "You weren't lying when you said quick," he smiles then blows out the match and sets it down on a little saucer to cool, picking up his phone he hits play on his Spotify music playlist. Michael Bublé's That's All starts to play through the bluetooth speaker that was sitting on the entertainment center, holding out his hand for Edd to take he brings the man in close and embraces him. Hands clasped together and their free hands on shoulder and hips Kevin begins to lead them in a gentle slow dance to the music.

 _I can only give you love that lasts forever, and the promise to be near each time you call._

Edd melted into the embrace, and laid his head upon Kevin's shoulder, breathing in the scent of his cologne mixed with a fragrance that was wholly his own.

 _And the only heart I own, for you and you alone, that's all, that's all_ _._

Edd sighs contently, "You know you don't play fair Mr. Barr."

Kevin whispers back, "I didn't think there were any rules in the game of love."

"There is not," he moved his hand from Kevin's shoulder to his back as Kevin did the same, "Just keep doing what you're doing."

 _I can only give you country walks in springtime, and a hand to hold when leaves begin to fall._

"I plan to," he kisses the top of Edd's head, and the raven haired man's heart begins to beat a little faster. Turning his head he faced up to the taller man, his eyes staring longingly into those forest green eyes, pleading silently with him to taste the sweetness of his lips. Both men desiring the same thing moved as one and time seemed to slow down as they brought their lips together, those strong rough lips of Kevin's were passionately dancing with the soft supple lips of Edd's mouth.

 _And a love whose burning light, will warm the winter's night, that's all, that's all._

Each forgetting themselves for a moment as they poured more passion into that kiss, daring to part their lips and fan the flame of their budding romance, savoring the taste of the other, the sweet noises that escaped the others lips as they briefly parted as they changed angles. But for each other's sake they kept the bonfire that threatened to consume them under control and contained, and with a little help from their chaperone who let out a small bark they broke the kiss as Edd looked over in Kippers direction. The dog only returned his stare as though to tell him to keep it family friendly for now and not to rush, "Getting jealous are we," Kevin jokes to the dog, but Kipper just gave him a look that said I like you but don't try me.

"He's just watching out for Daddy, aren't you," Kipper's tail begins to wag as he looks back to Edd, he turns his attention from the dog and back to Kevin, "Just reminding me to be patient."

"Well he does have our best interests in mind," they continued to dance while waiting on their meal to finish cooking, the next song being You and I by Michael Bublé. Keeping it as G rated as they could, sneaking in a kiss every now and then when they didn't think Kipper was watching, Kevin had to admit he liked Kipper more because of that protective side he had for Edd. The night was filled with good music warm embraces, the joy of each other's company and a surprisingly good premade meal. They cuddled on the couch with kipper lying on their laps as they talked the remainder of their evening away before they both had to call it a night. Both their hearts yearning for each other as they said goodnight, each one wishing the night would never end, but both would count the hours until they could meet again.


End file.
